Progressive forces denounce the ‘electoral coup’ in Honduras

Voters in Honduras went to the polls in a national election on Nov. 30; as of this writing no candidate has yet been named president. In the midst of numerous breakdowns in the electoral system (TREP), irregularities, security issues, evidence of fraud and blatant interference by President Donald Trump, current President Xiomara Castro de Zelaya has called the elections “null.”

Current vote tallies reportedly show right-wing candidate Nasty Asfura of the National Party beating the other right-wing candidate, Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, by a slim margin, with Rixi Moncada of the ruling LIBRE Party trailing far behind. Yet pre-election polls either gave Moncada a slight advantage over the other two candidates or showed the three running very close. About 15% of the votes still are supposed to be recounted due to inconsistencies in the data.

President Castro stated: “We are experiencing a process marked by threats, coercion, manipulation by the TREP and alteration of the will of the people. These actions constitute an ongoing electoral coup that we will denounce. … My duty as president and as a woman who emerged from the resistance is to defend democracy. National dignity and the sovereign will of the people, that is an unbreakable mandate in our Constitution. That is why I affirm that these elections, as revealed by the 26 audio recordings presented, are invalid.” (Telesur English YouTube, Dec. 10)

The reference to the “26 audio recordings” pertains to statements — made public by LIBRE representative on the National Electoral Council (CNE) Marlon Ochoa — wherein National Party leaders outlined plans to manipulate election results in collusion with the Honduran military. 

On Dec. 12, the National Congress of Honduras quoted from its President Luis Redondo, who stated that problems with the biometric recognition process “add to other serious inconsistencies that directly compromise the transparency and legitimacy of the electoral process.” (Congreso Nacional de Honduras on X)

Trump promotes National Party

LIBRE has denounced Trump’s blatant interference in the Honduran election by openly backing Asfura before the election. On Dec. 1, Trump stated on his social media platform, Truth Social: “Looks like Honduras is trying to change the results of their Presidential Election. If they do, there will be hell to pay!”

There are reports of threats to block remittances of funds to Hondurans from family members working in the U.S.

Purportedly neutral observing bodies such as the Organization of American States and the European Union were silent on Trump’s clear violations of Honduran sovereignty and his attempts to influence the outcome of the election.

Hondurans are also furious at Trump for the pardon of former President Juan Orlando Hernández, known as JOH, who was convicted in U.S. courts in 2024 of drug trafficking charges. JOH is alleged to have been involved in the importation of 400 tons of cocaine to the U.S. and using proceeds and bribes from drug traffickers to fund his election campaign in 2013.

The pardon of JOH exposes the extreme hypocrisy of the Trump administration, which has used the phony “war on drugs” as an excuse to attack small boats in the Caribbean, murdering almost 90 people and threatening Venezuela.

If Asfura does become president, the main beneficiaries will be foreign corporations and the Honduran oligarchy. These are the forces behind the special economic zones known as ZEDEs and the upholding of the law creating ZEDEs after Castro blocked the law in 2022. The notorious Próspera ZEDE is described as “a private, for-profit city, with its own government that courts foreign investors through low taxes and light regulation.” (nytimes.com, Aug. 28, 2024)

President Castro has called on the Honduran masses to protest the electoral process in the streets. On Dec. 12 she stated, “We condemn the blatant foreign interference of the President of the United States Donald Trump in the elections; his threats prevented free voting rights and stopped the people from expressing their will.” (Partido LIBRE Facebook)

LIBRE held an “Extraordinary National Assembly” on Dec. 13 in Ciguatepeque. In a statement to the assembly, the Coordination of LIBRE Party D19 USA-Canada and Costa Rica stated: “We denounce the intervention of structures of bipartisanship [of the two right-wing Honduran parties, the National and Liberal parties] and sectors linked to organized crime and corruption, who seek to retain control of the State while diminishing the rights of the people. 

“We also condemn the interference of foreign actors, including the United States government and its embassy, ​​as well as far-right sectors, who openly pressured in favor of the imposed candidate [Asfura], violating the sovereignty and autonomy of Honduras.”

D19 added that it “calls on the population to remain vigilant and united, promoting civic mobilization as a legitimate mechanism to defend democracy and national sovereignty.”